Mason Motor Car Company

Mason production began on August 16, 1906. Marketing efforts for the new car promoted its strength by having it drive up the 47 steps of the Iowa State Capitol building. Other advertisements boasted about the excellent fuel efficiency of the Duesenberg two-cylinder engine, claiming it could carry the car 475 miles on 18 gallons of gasoline. "The Fastest and Strongest Two-Cylinder Car in America" was the Mason's slogan. Beginning in 1907 the Mason was used in racing and reliability trials. The 1906 to 1908 Mason was made as a touring car or runabout and priced at $1,350, equivalent to $43,970 in 2022.[2]

In 1908 the company was reorganized as the Mason Automobile Company and factory expansion plans were started.[2]

In 1909 the company was bought by washing machine maker Frederick L. Maytag and his son Elmer H. Maytag. The new company, Maytag-Mason Motor Company moved production to Waterloo, Iowa at the suggestion of William O. Galloway. The two-cylinder cars were continued as Masons, and a new four-cylinder car was marketed as a Maytag. For 1911 both cars were named Maytag, but late in the same year, the Maytag family pulled out of the company.[2][1]

The Duesenberg brothers left the company when the Maytags controlled it but retained the Mason name for racing cars they built. By 1913, they were in St. Paul, Minnesota where they established the Duesenberg Motor Company.[1]

Edward Mason regained control of the company by 1912 from Galloway and Maytag interests and reorganized as Mason Motor Company. The Duesenbergs retained some ties with Edward Mason and in 1912 a new 2-cylinder Duesenberg engine of 20-hp was introduced. This is the first version of the famous Duesenberg" walking beam" engine. In 1913, the $3,000 (equivalent to $87,648 in 2022) Mason-Mohler was announced. This new car had a four-cylinder 65-hp Duesenberg engine mounted on a 128-inch wheelbase chassis that was underslung in the front and overslung at the rear.[1] This may have been a de-tuned version of the four-cylinder "walking beam" engine.[2]

Finances and leadership changes proved insurmountable for Edward Mason and the company was bankrupt by the end of 1914. The Waterloo factory was sold for $35,000 in 1915.[2]